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Here is a wood story that our island people tell, but in this case they don't love it so well!
Got a call from a prospective client living full time in Surf City, on Long Beach Island. They have pre-finished Brazilian Cherry hardwood throughout the ‘open concept’ living space on their main living floor. An impressive open spance, these sand digs’ give off a very warm inviting island style vibe. Beachy, with plantation shutters, a lovely north facing screen enclosed porch, this place screams of sand in your toes, cocktails in hand, and sunset views a’plenty!
With retirement time on her hands Noel set about hunting for the exact material they originally purchased.
With the claim filed. Noel jumped right on finding the replacement flooring they needed. Without much trouble the liquidator-supplier cross referenced the material in their database. Noel drilled them and they absolutely confirmed the material was an exact match. Finally convinced, after seeing the model numbers match up, she felt lucky and confident it was the right stuff. And she quickly ordered it to secure the goods.
Not paying too much attention, they let the restoration folks get started.
The tearout began. The team seemed proficient and engaged. They tore the damaged goods out and examined the subfloor for soundness.
Noel and John mostly stayed out of the way, but within easy reach. On this particular day Noel ran errands while John held fort with the dogs upstairs. And while not ‘on top of them’, nor staring down the project, they were easily within reach for consultation. The goods arrived and acclimated. Things were moving forward, and the team readied to start putting the wood in.
From what I am told the installer’s site contact person was not on location when the install began. But it began. And for the life of me, I can’t quite say I know what ‘planet’ the installers were on when they started installing the wood!
Why in the world "wood" they think this is alright?
Clearly as the wood was being installed there was “no brain” present on the job. And while I don’t slam fellow contractor’s work, when it is off, and this much off, I can’t dismiss or excuse their negligence.
So the installation continues and goes unchecked. Whoever was putting it in kept doing so. Proper procedure would have been to stop immediately and consult both the lead site guy, and the customer.
None of that was done. Instead the installation continued.
Guess the installers felt it looked good from their house, what did they care?
Forgive me for being sarcastic, but what the heck! Wasn’t there a thinking brain on the job when the wood went in? The sheen of the new wood has a texture, even a ‘stamped’ or ‘registered’ pattern to it. It looked completely different than the goods in the remaining 3/4’s of the the room, andjacent room and entry area. It has a high gloss shine without any texture.
Clearly two things come to mind. A- there wasn’t a thinking brain on the job, just minions marching on. Or B- those minions were ignoring the problem or not communicating “up the ladder.” Perhaps they feared not finishing the job, and hence not getting paid. Or, perhaps the site supervisor was absent from the job (which I think was the case,) so it wasn’t their pay grade to stop the install on behalf of the client.
By the time Noel returned, and saw the installation almost done, it was too late!
Of course, Noel saw the material in the box, and at first and laymans glance the color and the width of the goods were the same. Perhaps had she seen it side by side she would have questioned the situation or halted the installation until she spoke with someone.
However with no one around to address the matter, the installation ensued. It was too late.
Noel emergently called the site supervisor, then the senior rep of the installation company, but to no avail. The company pushed back with duel blame on the them, the homeowners. And after a bit of consternation Noel gave up, realizing they were getting no where with their complaint.
With enough disgust and disappointment Noel & John just wanted these people out of their house- they rode it out and said good riddens.
Realizing it was a ‘he said – she said” they decided not to dig their heels in and fight. They opted for the floor to be done and to let it blow over, preferring to kick the can down the road.
Instead Noel and John eventually decided to deal with the situation and have the floors sanded and refinished to match. They reached out to us, and after some friendly conversations we hit it off, and they engaged us to help them. And for more about their experience with us, you can click here.
While I am not intending to 'get into the weeds' about this transaction, I do have some pointers
Not being suggested that you dig your heels in when the goods arrive, a proactive approach might be helpful. Insist on a delivery meeting with your field rep when the goods arrive. Set this up so it protects you from any misunderstanding such as what these good folks experienced. This will avoid any mishaps moving forward, and messiness resulting in pointing fingers. The last thing you need is to settle for unacceptable goods being forced upon you at the benefit of the contractor and expense of you!
You don’t have to live with a botched installation or refinishing of your hardwood floors. Free assessments and perscriptions to fix them for you. Free estimates Call Us, or Contact Us on line and we will reach out to you.